Lucknow: A technical snag in one of the machines at the Baikunth Dham electric crematorium has forced families to either wait for hours for cremation or opt for conventional wood pyres over the past three days.On Sunday, Amit Verma (name changed), an Aliganj resident, brought the body of his 65-year-old father to the crematorium to fulfil his father’s wish for an electric cremation. However, he was informed that the facility was not functional.With the other electric furnace occupied, he was given the option of waiting for four hours.“I had to opt for a traditional pyre and spend nearly Rs 7,000 on wood, ghee and other materials,” he said.Baikunth Dham has only two electric furnaces and usually conducts four to five electric cremations daily. Since the breakdown, no more than two electric cremations have been carried out each day.Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) officials said electric cremation is free and more environmentally friendly. A conventional cremation costs between Rs 6,000 and Rs 8,000 and can take up to four hours.Crematorium staff said the electric furnace had developed faults three times in the past eight months. Social worker Sharad Patel said the delay in repairs had added to the hardship of families already coping with grief.LMC executive engineer Rajesh Prabhat said the fault was caused by a damaged coil that had been sent for repairs. “The repair process is underway and the facility is expected to resume operations soon,” he said.
